


Mind Over Manor

by EdinaSaunders



Category: Dark Shadows (2012)
Genre: Amnesia, F/F, Other, Polyamory, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27869441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdinaSaunders/pseuds/EdinaSaunders
Summary: Imogen Wood has secrets, things she’d like to forget, and a past she wants to put behind her. Turning up at Collinsport with no memory, she thinks she can start fresh, but the secrets she hides may put her fresh start in danger of a premature end.
Relationships: Julia Hoffman/Elizabeth Collins Stoddard/Imogen Wood (OC), Julia Hoffman/Elizabeth Collins Stoddard/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Mind Over Manor

The pain in her bare feet had subsided as the cold of the forest floor beneath her numbed them. They were scraped and dirty from the miles upon miles she had run. She couldn’t begin to estimate how far she’d gone. Her white dress was tattered and ragged from catching on tree branches and thorns as she went. There were times she had slowed down, and hidden herself among the trees for rest, but never for very long. The chase wasn’t over. He’d be coming for her.

A wave of fear washed over her as she pressed her back against a thick oak tree. He was approaching again, she suspected, though she hadn’t seen any sign of him in quite some time. But he wouldn’t give up, she was sure of that. It was the dread that kept her going. Every noise in the forest set her off, thinking it was him. Darkness was creeping in, the dense foliage obscuring most of the little sunlight that was left. Pretty soon she’d be running blind.

She kept at it until the sound of a river drew her attention. If she followed that, odds are she’d find a town or a city at the end. Most northeastern towns settled near bodies of water. She could disappear there and escape him once and for all. She’d change her name, her hair color, anything just so he couldn’t track her down. She picked up her pace, her breaths short and frantic. She felt a sense of promise in what was ahead.

Finally, she saw a light through the trees. Had she really made it? She cast a wary glance over her shoulder, one last look back before she reached her freedom. He was nowhere in sight. She’d done it. The forest was nearly behind her now, just a few more feet.

Nearing the end of her treacherous journey, her legs finally began to give out from overuse and she tripped over a tree root in the darkness. She fumbled to catch herself, but the trees had thinned and none were close enough for her to reach out for to prevent the coming fall. As she hit the ground with a quiet thud and a rustling of the crisp leaves beneath her body, her head cracked against a large, jagged rock and her world went black.

She awoke laying on a cot, blinking her eyes against the sunlight streaming through the window. She had no idea where she was. She bolted up, feeling the sensation rush to her head. She lifted her hand to steady it and found that her head was wrapped with gauze. "Easy there," came a voice from a desk several feet away. Tightly, she squeezed her eyes shut, now completely aware of her pounding head. "Pulled you out of the forest last night. I was on my rounds and you were laying just past the trees. What were you running from, anyhow? You must have been going for miles by the state of you."

"Running," she asked weakly. She had no recollection of the events of the previous night. She looked down at her feet, bare and calloused as if to give her proof of the claims being made about her.

"We cleaned you up as best as we could, but you fought us when you woke up. You eventually blacked out again. Think that stone did a number on your head. Do you...know your name?"

It took her a moment to break through the pain to answer, but she finally uttered a name. "Imogen."

"Well Imogen, welcome to Collinsport. Wish it were under better circumstances." There was a sigh before the next question came. "I’m sure I know the answer, but do you have anywhere to go?"

The throbbing in her head dwindled a bit, letting Imogen think more clearly. "I- I don’t think so," she said. "As far as I know, I’ve never been here before. And I," Imogen paused, shedding a tear, "I don’t know where home is or if I even have one."

"Well you can stay here while you recover. It’s none too cushy but it’s a roof over your head. In the meantime, I’ll see if I can’t get you someplace to stay until you get your memory back, alright?"

Imogen was grateful for the kindness. She smiled faintly as she nodded her head ever so slightly, careful not to jar it too badly. She wiped away the tear that had rolled down her cheek. Crying wouldn’t help her, but without being able to remember what happened to her the night before, she wasn’t sure what could. She laid back down and fell asleep once more.

"Imogen, I have someone here to see you." Hours had passed and it was evening when she heard the gentle voice attempt to rouse her. She could tell by the setting of the sun outside. Imogen blinked, most of the pain in her head had now dissipated. She sat up, slowly this time, and took in the women standing before her. One of them was blonde with striking blue eyes, all dressed in black, standing ever so slightly in front of the other one. The other was a redhead, who looked altogether from a different world than the blonde, with her brightly patterned dress and vibrant makeup.

"My name is Elizabeth Collins," the blonde woman introduced. "My family founded this town, and when we heard about you, we offered to take you in until you’ve healed. This is our psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman. She’ll be seeing to it that you get your memory restored. Does that sound agreeable to you?" Imogen was a bit confused, but with a reassuring nod from the sheriff whom she’d spoken to earlier, she accepted the kind offer.

Getting up proved more challenging than Imogen had expected. Her feet were hurt and blistered, her legs sore and scraped. "Let’s get her a wheelchair," suggested Julia. One was brought out of a storage closet and pulled over to her. The sheriff and Julia both helped her into it and Elizabeth pushed the chair out to the car.

The ride was uncomfortably silent, but Imogen didn’t dare speak. She wouldn’t have even known what to say if she were to open her mouth. When they pulled up to their destination, Imogen looked out the window in awe and the sprawling mansion that lay before her. "Welcome to Collinwood," Elizabeth said. She and Julia then got out and Julia went around to Imogen's door to open it for her.

"Can you make it inside on foot," Julia asked her. "I’m afraid the stairs might prove a bit of a challenge for the wheelchair."

"I can make it," Imogen confirmed, and slowly she got out of the car, taking Julia's hand to steady her. Her feet now wrapped up in addition to the socks that she was given as she left the police department made the ground less troubling to walk on. She still winced at the first couple of steps, but she made it inside with relatively little issue.

Julia had apparently been instructed to see to Imogen when they arrived at Collinwood, for Elizabeth quickly disappeared into another part of the house by the time the two of them made it through the door. "We'll just have you rest for the night, alright," Julia asked. That was all Imogen felt like doing anyhow, so she quietly agreed. Julia led her to the room she’d be staying in, one far more grand than she could ever recall seeing, though even the memories of her childhood bedroom were coming to her in a bit of a blur right now. Julia helped Imogen into the bed, and left her with the promise of checking on her in the morning when she woke.

The door closed and Imogen relished the silence. It was soothing to her troubled head. Even her thoughts were mostly quiet, which was both somehow calming and unsettling for her. She didn’t know what tomorrow would hold for her here in Collinwood, or if she’d recover what memories were lost to her. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep, as her mind began to heal.


End file.
